Blank check and record keeping folder



May 10, 1966 F. s. SCHADE BLANK CHECK AND RECORD KEEPING FOLDER Filed Aug. 28, 1964 United States Patent 3,250,549 BLANK CHECK AND RECORD KEEPING FOLDER Frank Stanley Schade, Holyoke, Mass, assignor to National Blank Book Company, Holyoke, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Aug. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 392,766 4 Claims. (Cl. 28116) This invention relates to a record keeping folder for check books and in particular to a combined check and account book for maintenance of checking account data, expenditures and tax records relating thereto.

A primary objectof the invention is to provide a pad of blank checks associated with an accounting record which will be convenient and easy to use and serve to maintain a record of all transactions incident to the writing of checks. A related object is to so arrange the parts thereof that the user is reminded of the desirability of keeping records and of entering them at the time the check is made out.

Another object is to provide a folder of the above type in which each account sheet, whether representative of a given time period or otherwise, may be preserved in one folder and with a minimum amount of handling.

The invention is characterized by a pair of folder covers, on one cover of which a pad of blank checks is mounted in a holder pivoted at one side of the cover and positioned to slide vertically and overlie a wire bound pad of accounting forms. The pad of forms is carried by a second holder which is pivotally secured as at the bottom of the cover so that a pad with a wire binding at the top is held in a position to permit the turning of completed pages to the back of the holder.

The above and other specific objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof as disclosed in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a record keeping book in open position; 2

FIG. 2 is a section on line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view on greatly reduced scale showing disposition of a completed record sheet of the book.

Referring to FIG. 1 the folder comprises a pair of hinged covers 2 and 4 pivotally connected along a hinge line at 6. At the inside of front cover 2 a flap 8, attached along bottom and side edges, forms a pocket for retaining loose papers such as unpaid bills, etc.

On the inside surface of the back cover 4 and ad jacent the hinge line 6 is a narrow band or strip 10 of flexible thermoplastic sheet material heat sealed along its outer edge to the cover as along a weld line 12. At its inner edge the strip is provided with an extruded longitudinal tracking means 14 consisting of a series of upwardly facing tongue and groove portions. Riding on track 14 are downwardly facing mating tongue and groove portions 16 of a narrow attaching band or strip 18, theother edge of this strip being attached to a check pad holder 20 carrying a pad 22 of blank checks 24. At the top and bottom of the track the tongues and grooves are transversely mutilated to form stops at 25 for limiting travel of the pad. Pad 22 is thus movable in a controlled vertical path guided by the tracking means 14.

Along the bottom edge of cover 4 and secured thereto as along a heat sealing weld line 26 is a pocket 28 open at its top for holding the stiff cover member 30 of a pad of spiral wire bound record sheets 32. As clearly shown the wire binding of the form sheet pad is thus at the top of cover panel 4.

When the check pad holder 20 is turned away from the forms as indicated by the phantom lines of FIG. 2,

the pad of record sheets may be brought upwardly of cover 4 on its attached edge 26. This action serves to free the rear side of the pocket 23 for turning a completed record sheet over to that side for conveniently disposing of the same in the folder without separation. It also permits ready reference to pages previously turned over to the back side. The action of raising holder pocket 28 is readily seen from FIG. 3.

Pocket 28 is preferably formed by a pair of thermoplastic sheets as 34 and 36 (FIG. 1) sealed on the bottom at 26, sealed along its sides as shown at the inner side 38, and open at the top to receive the cover 30.

The check pad holder 20 is also preferably formed by a pair of thermoplastic sheets 49 and 42 sealed as along its top and bottom edges as at the bottom edge seal at 44. Thus a sleeve is provided for receiving a mounting flap indicated at 46 to he slipped between the sheets for holding the pad 22 thereon. The sealed edges of the holder at the top and bottom of pad 22 preferably extend marginally beyond these pad edges andthus serve to provide a straight edge line indicator means to guide the user for the purpose of making entries on a topmost form sheet 32.

As has been noted strip 18 of holder 20 extends into slidable engagement with track means 14. In the area of this slidable attachment with the pad 22 overlying the record sheets (as best indicated by FIG. 2), strip 10 is upraised slightly, a condition which depends largely on the thickness of the wire bound pad of sheets 32. In order to maintain strip 10 in a flat relation insofar as possible and to keep it from flapping loose and perhaps becoming frayed the top and bottom edges are sealed with the mutilated end stops 25 against the inner surface of the cover 4. This sealed end attachment is indicated at 29 (FIGS. 1 and 2). The adjacent sealed edge 38 of pocket 28 as shown against cover 4 is located closely adjacent the grooved portion 14 of the strip 10 so that as may be seen from FIG. 1 the assembly preserves a neat unitary appearance.

Use of the folder will be clearly evident from the above description of the relation of various parts. Form sheets 32 are lined pages arranged in convenient columns. As indicated by FIG. 1 the columns embraced by the bracket, numeral 50, extend from top to bottom of the page and are for check book record purposes, e.g., date, number, description, deposit, check amount, and balance entries. These columns cover the usual check stub entries. Ifdesired, of course, the stubs could be incorporated wth the pad of blank checks. Columns embraced by bracket 52 at the top right of vertical divider line 51 are for general expense items such as housing, food, automobile, etc. Below columns 52 are arranged headings and columns bracketed by numeral 53 and serving for items of expense which aifect the users income tax picture, e.g., contributions, interest paid, medical, etc.

Thus, the user at the time of writing a check will be doing so directly on the background of the page on which appropriate entries are to be posted and recorded and a constant reminder is present to prompt posting relating not only to bank account records, but also to budgetary records, and income tax records. With posting while the check is right at hand, the changes are that the records will be correct. The check pad holder being slidably mounted serves to act as a line finder in posting appropriate entry; and being hingedly mounted it serves to release the form pad holder for convenient disposition and storage of completed record sheets.

What is claimed is:

1. A blank check and record-keeping folder comprising a pair of hinged covers, a narrow band of flexible material having one edge fixed along one side edge of one of said covers, said band being hingedly swingable relative to said edge and at the side edge of the band opposite thereto having longitudinally grooved tracking means, a blank check pad holder having grooved means at the side thereof interconnecting said tracking means for slidable guided movement relative to said cover, and a record-keeping form pad holder having one side thereof fixed to a side edge of the cover whereby said check pad holder may be swung into overlying relation for sliding the same on its track for line indicator purposes and may be swung away from overlying relation for swinging said form pad holder upwardly and turning the pages ofa form pad held thereby to either side thereof.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which all the elements thereof are of heat-scalable thermoplastic sheet material and the tracking and engaging means for said check pad holder are extruded interlocking longitudinal tongue and groove portions, the end portions of said tracking means being mutilated and providing stops at each end for limiting endwise travel of said check pad holder.

3. A blank check and record-keeping folder of heatsealable thermoplastic sheet material comprising a pair of hinged covers and a record-keeping form pad holder in the form of a pocket having one end open and the oppositely located end being sealed along the edge of one of the covers for upward swinging movement thereof relative to said cover, a wire bound pad of columnar lined record-keeping sheets having a stiff cover member, said cover member being inserted in the pocket for swingtransversely positioned relative to said form pad holder and having tongue and groove means extending from one end of said sleeve and engaging said tracking means, said check pad holder having a line indicator straight edge and being swingable on said hinge strip to and .from an overlying relation on said forrn sheets of 'said pad and a position laterally of said sheets for turning the sheets on said wire binding, said tracking means atv each end being mutilated and forming stops to limit travel of said check pad holder.

4. The structure of claim 3 in which said hinge strip is also sealed at its top and bottom edges to the cover to hold said strip ends in flat relation against said cover.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 965,227 7/1910 Robinson 2828 2,113,099 4/1938 Sloan 281-17 7/ 1964 Rideout 282291 X LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner. 

1. A BLANK CHECK AND RECORD-KEEPING FOLDER COMPRISING A PAIR OF HINGED COVERS, A NARROW BAND OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL HAVING ONE EDGE FIXED ALONG ONE SIDE EDGE OF ONE OF SAID COVERS, SAID BAND BEING HINGEDLY SWINGABLE RELATIVE TO SAID EDGE AND AT THE SIDE EDGE OF THE BAND OPPOSITE THERETO HAVING LONGITUDINALLY GROOVED TRACKING MEANS, A BLANK CHECK PAD HOLDER HAVING GROOVED MEANS AT THE SIDE THEREOF INTERCONNECTING SAID TRACKING MEANS FOR SLIDABLE GUIDED MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID COVER, AND A RECORD-KEEPING FORM AND PAD HOLDER HAVING ONE SIDE THEREOF 